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The brand called you

The original article by the man who began searching for excellence and ended up being America's preeminent management guru, appeared in FastCompany back in 1997. It hasn't aged one bit!

Tom Peters

3886 words | 14 pages

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Big companies understand the importance of brands. Today, inthe Age of the Individual, you have to be your own brand. Here'swhat it takes to be the CEO of Me, Inc.

It's this simple: You are a brand.You are in charge of your brand.There is no single path to success. And there is no one right way tocreate the brand called You. Except this: Start today. Or else.

It's a new brand world.That cross-trainer you're wearing— one look at the distinctive swoosh onthe side tells everyone who's got you branded. That coffee travel mug you're carrying— ah, you're a Starbucks woman! Your T-shirt with thedistinctive Champion "C" on the sleeve, the blue jeans with the prominentLevi's rivets, the watch with the hey-this-certifies-I-made-it icon on theface, your fountain pen with the maker's symbol crafted into the end ...

You're branded, branded, branded, branded.

It's time for me— and you— to take a lesson from the big brands, a lessonthat's true for anyone who's interested in what it takes to stand out andprosper in the new world of work.

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Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business wehappen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc.

To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.

It's that simple— and that hard. And that inescapable.Behemoth companies may take turns buying each other or acquiring every hot startup that catches their eye— mergers in 1996 set records.Hollywood may be interested in only blockbusters and book publishersmay want to put out only guaranteed best-sellers. But don't be fooled by all the frenzy at the humongous end of the size spectrum.The real action is at the other end: the main chance is becoming a freeagent in an economy of free agents, looking to have the best season youcan imagine in your field, looking to do your best work and chalk up aremarkable track record, and looking to establish your own microequivalent of the Nike swoosh. Because if you do, you'll not only reach outtoward every opportunity within arm's (or laptop's) length, you'll not only make a noteworthy contribution to your team's success— you'll also put yourself in a great bargaining position for next season's free-agency market.The good news— and it is largely good news— is that everyone has achance to stand out. Everyone has a chance to learn, improve, and buildup their skills. Everyone has a chance to be a brand worthy of remark. Who understands this fundamental principle? The big companies do.They've come a long way in a short time: it was just over four years ago, April 2, 1993 to be precise, when Philip Morris cut the price of Marlborocigarettes by 40 cents a pack. That was on a Friday. On Monday, the stock market value of packaged goods companies fell by $25 billion. Everybody agreed: brands were doomed.Today brands are everything, and all kinds of products and services—from accounting firms to sneaker makers to restaurants— are figuring out

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how to transcend the narrow boundaries of their categories and become a brand surrounded by a Tommy Hilfiger-like buzz. Who else understands it? Every single Web site sponsor. In fact, the Webmakes the case for branding more directly than any packaged good orconsumer product ever could. Here's what the Web says: Anyone can havea Web site. And today, because anyone can ... anyone does! So how do youknow which sites are worth visiting, which sites to bookmark, which sitesare worth going to more than once? The answer: branding.

The sites you go back to are thesites you trust. They're the siteswhere the brand name tells youthat the visit will be worth your time— again and again. The brand is a promise of the value you'll receive.

The same holds true for that other killer app of the Net— email. Wheneverybody has email and anybody can send you email, how do you decide whose messages you're going to read and respond to first— and whose you're going to send to the trash unread? The answer: personal branding.

The name of the email sender isevery bit as important a brand— isa brand— as the name of the Website you visit. It's a promise of thevalue you'll receive for the time youspend reading the message.

Nobody understands branding better than professional services firms.Look at McKinsey or Arthur Andersen for a model of the new rules of branding at the company and personal level. Almost every professional